If you grew up around Fox Mustangs, they tend to stick with you for life. Everyone has their favorite versions and models, but for some of us, it’s those unusual models that ring all the right bells. There is just something about being able to remove those glass panels, crank up the tunes, and hit the road. That is the case for Dago Garza and his eye-catching T-top Fox.

Driving it and listening to the blower whistle and the deep sound of my Flowmasters takes me back to the ’90s… — Dago Garza, Owner

“As a kid, I always loved cars, and one of my uncle’s built cars,” Garza recalled. “Going to his house as a kid and seeing his projects always made me want to have cars like him.”

Resting in a UPR Products tubular K-member and framed by a fully shaved engine bay without a nest of wiring in sight, thanks to a wire-tuck by Ramon Vasquez, sits a 351 Windsor small-block with a .030-inch overbore swapped in with help from his brother, Orlando. It is topped by a pair of ported AFR 205cc aluminum cylinder heads and an Edelbrock Victor EFI intake manifold. A custom camshaft controls the valve events, and a Holley Terminator X EFI system wired by Ramon Vasquez and tuned by Frank Gonzalez orchestrates the fuel and spark. With a Vortech V1 S-Trim supercharger supplying 15 pounds of boost, it generates more than 600 horsepower.

As inspiration turns to passion, some enthusiasts grow to love all forms of automotive transportation, while others lock onto a single brand. Either way, we all have our favorites, and eventually, Garza locked in on notchback Mustangs — and who could blame him?

“I’ve always liked Fords,” he said. “My first car was a ’99 F-150, and when my little brother Orlando Garza bought his first Mustang coupe back in 2004, that’s when I fell in love with Mustang coupes.”

A decade ago, he turned his dreams into reality by scoring a Mustang coupe of his own. For some, a coupe might be special enough, especially given the current popularity of Fox Mustangs. However, this wasn’t just any coupe, but it was one of just 13,708 1984 Mustangs configured with the factory T-top option.

Mini tubs make room for huge, 18×12-inch Boyd Coddington wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson 325/35-R18 drag radial rubber, which are paired with matching 18×7-inch fronts wearing 225/40-18 Nitto NT555 G2s. Those tires spin on 31-spline axles spinning in a narrowed 8.8-inch with 9-inch bearing ends. It is filled with 3.73 gears. Hanging under the T-top Fox’s rear bumpers are 3-inch custom tailpipes that release those classic Flowmaster tones that remind everyone of the Fox Mustang’s heyday.

Starter ’Stang

“This is the first Mustang coupe I bought back in 2015, and it wasn’t a regular Mustang coupe; it was an original 1984 T-top coupe. The guy I bought it from changed it to an aero front end and the ’90s dash,” Garza said. “As soon as I bought it, I sent it to be painted to change the color to yellow, as that’s my favorite color. Then a friend of mine swapped out the motor, and I took it to get mini-tubbed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Derek Ledoux at Auto Fab Performance. The last thing I had done was the interior and system at Custom Tint and Alarm in Pasadena, Texas.”

While modern engine swaps might be the order of the day, some people still enjoy the chop of a pushrod powerplant, especially when it is paired with the straight-cut gear whine of a centrifugal supercharger.

A black interior provides contrast to the T-top Fox’s bright-yellow exterior. Framed by a four-point cage, the interior is upgraded with custom door panels, a double-DIN head unit, and a Holley 12.3-inch Holley dash, which gets its data from a Holley Terminator X EFI system.

“I built it with a 351 bored .030-over with 205 AFR heads, a custom camshaft, and a Vortech V1 S-Trim,” Garza said. “I chose this because I wanted to keep it an old small-block Ford motor.”

Controlled by a Holley Terminator X fuel-injection system tuned by Frank Gonzalez, this period-correct combo gets that chop courtesy of a custom-ground cam, and breathes in 15 pounds of cog-driven Vortech boost via a ported Edelbrock Victor EFI intake. Together, this hardware generates 600-plus horsepower, which travels back to the T-top Fox’s fortified 8.8-inch rearend by way of a TREMEC TKO five-speed manual transmission.

“It’s fun to drive around town. I have a lot of people give me thumbs-up or stop and tell me how nice the car looks,” Garza said. “Also driving it and listening to the blower whistle and the deep sound of my Flowmasters takes me back to the ’90s when all the old muscle cars would pass me as a kid.”

Shining Bright

The sound is only part of the package. When the sun sets, he can put on a multimedia show thanks to the underglow lighting, and custom LED headlights and tailights created by Travis Blanchard at Classic LEDs. The lighting continues under the trunk lid as well, where a FoxSquad sign glows above the custom enclosure hiding the audio system and fuel cell.

The combination was striking enough to win the Glow-Off contest and take home the Best ’79-’86 Mustang award at Mustang Week Texas presented by Ford and LMR, which was surprisingly the first time this T-top coupe was displayed on a big stage.

Garza drove away from Mustang Week Texas presented by Ford and LMR with top honors in the Glow-Off competition. His ride lights up the night with under-car lighting, as well as custom LED headlights and taillights by Travis Blanchard at Classic LEDs.

“I wanted to bring it to Mustang Week because I have never taken my car to a big show like that since I have built it,” Garza said. “And I thought what better show to take it to than one of the biggest Mustang shows there is?”

We couldn’t agree more, and it probably won’t be the last time the car heads out to a big show. In the near term, it will probably remain much like you see it here. However, in the future, it may continue to evolve, as most project cars do.

“As of now, I just want to enjoy it,” Garza added. “Maybe down the line, if anything happens to the motor, I may Coyote-swap it. I am also thinking about changing it back to the original four-eyed nose, but I’m not sure yet.”

Painted to match his 2021 F-250, Garza’s T-top Fox is sprayed in his favorite color, yellow. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dago Garza)

Texas 10

Four-eye Foxes certainly have their charm, and Coyote engines are tough to beat when it comes to performance and driveability. However, the car attracted plenty of attention in its current state at Mustang Week Texas.

“I had lots of people film, take pictures, and congratulate me on my build, and lots of stares all weekend,” Garza said.

We were among those smitten by the combination of bold paint and lighting with a period-correct powertrain, which is why you are reading about it here. As such, his T-top Fox coupe also earned a spot in the Ford Muscle Texas 10, a single-eliminator contest voted for on the Ford Muscle Facebook and Instagram pages. So, keep an eye out for stories on the other Texas 10 contestants, and be sure to vote for your favorites.

The Mustang that emerges victorious will be crowned the Ford Muscle Texas 10 Champion and receive a custom piece of wall art featuring their winning ride — an epic badge of honor for any Mustang enthusiast.